Man goes in water, dies later

A Ninety Six man became the third young man in four days to die in Laurens County.

Authorities identified the victim of a Sunday incident at Waterloo-Lake Greenwood as 30-year-old Lionel Benkie James. Two young men died in separate traffic accidents Thursday in Laurens and Joanna.

Authorities said James and others were out for the first time on Lake Greenwood in a rented pontoon. James went into the water to retrieve flotation devices, and told bystanders that he thought he was drowning. He got back into the boat, had trouble breathing, and was unresponsive by the time the pontoon got back to shore. A nurse at the dock in Waterloo and EMS staff tried to revive James, but he died at the scene at 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Laurens County Deputy Coroner Vickie Cheek said a cause of death ruling is pending results of a toxicology report.